Earth Day Reading Comprehension Activity: Spelling, Rhyming - Reading Mystery

Earth Day Reading Mystery: Once Upon A Crime, FOREST GRIME! Easy prep! Just Print & Solve! Or go paperless with the new Google Slides option provided within your download.

⭐This resource is ideal for 3rd - 4th Grade⭐ (or high reading level 2nd graders)

⭐A video hook is provided to set the stage to engage! Check out the video hook in the preview section.

⭐A bonus ENDING VIDEO clip is included to celebrate finishing the mystery.

⭐NEW: Fun Visual Suspect Character Cards Included.

• Students must highlight the evidence in the reading to prove their answers.
• The discovery format requires a fill-in-the-missing-letter process to unlock clues. (Differentiation Option included, B-Edition Structure, which requires full answers, but a teacher to check. Word Banks are provided to make the word puzzles easier.)
• Reading is required to be able to solve the missing letters in words, sentences, and statements or to answer questions/solve vocabulary puzzles.
• Each clue requires students to think critically and use deductive reasoning to decide which suspects they can eliminate from their suspect list. The last suspect remaining is the culprit!

All of the reading passages are included in this original story that features your 'student detective' as the star throughout.

Distance Learning Update: I've added a Word document in the folder containing a Google Doc link to share this resource with your students via Google Classroom or Drive. Parts of the pages are editable, so your students can complete them without printing them. Please note that you must make a copy of the Google Slides to your drive before editing.

--> I've also added a PowerPoint that contains the Worksheets as images with editable textboxes for those who use Microsoft.

Preparation

This is a print-and-go activity. Everything you need for this activity, including the reading passages, is in the download. Just print, copy for your students, and set up the (optional) video hook for viewing at the start! The video hook is designed to make students think, 'what's going on?' This was done on purpose to encourage them to read.

Implementation suggestion: Depending on your student's reading abilities, the ease of this activity may vary. To keep everyone at the same pace, you could read the passages together as a class and then follow up with the activities to fill in the missing letters that will help unlock a clue. For independent work, set a timer for reading only, and then allow them time to answer the questions and re-read the text if they need. If your students find this too easy, I'd recommend the 'Private Eye CSI - Literacy Mysteries' range instead, which requires inferring and more skill to solve the mystery.

If your students try to attempt the activity section without reading the passages, instruct them to highlight the evidence in the reading text to show you where they found the answers.

How long will this activity take?

This varies depending on the age and reading level of your students. If you want to keep your class at the same point, I recommend pacing the clues individually.

What are Once Upon a Crime Reading Mysteries?

Learn more about what to expect in this blog post.

There are FIVE clues to crack!

SKILLS TARGETED

- Reading

- Comprehension

- Spelling

- Nouns, Verbs, and Adjectives

- Rhyming

- Character Traits

- Critical Thinking

- Writing (optional on the mystery declaration sheet)

OPTIONAL: After finishing the five clue sheets, an optional mystery declaration sheet can be used to state the culprit. On this declaration page, students report WHO they think is responsible for the forest grime, plus outline the clues discovered along with their elimination reasoning for each.

The end of the story is wrapped up in a one-page article certificate. (Shhh.... keep these a secret as they reveal the mystery answer in the newspaper article your little star detective features in.)

You will also receive instructions, answer sheets, and an elimination guide.

Differentiation Options Included with this Resource

• A 'B-Edition' Alternative Structure is included for differentiation purposes. This alternative copy of Forest Grime removes the missing letter-filling structure and requires full answers. If you choose to use the B-Edition copy, you will need to prep the clue cards into envelopes or boxes (or keep them hidden), and students will need to check in with you to gain access to each clue.
• Word Banks are included within a single file found in the alternate options. These are useful if you need to make this activity easier for some of your students.
• Check out the 'Read me' file included in the folder download first.

Your feedback on this resource would be appreciated.

Thank you, and enjoy!

You may also be interested in:

Earth Day Math Mystery: Case of The Litterbug

Reading Mystery - Once Upon a Crime: Stolen Time

Christmas Reading Mystery: Once Upon a Crime - Rescue Rudolph!

Valentine's Day Reading Mystery: Once Upon a Crime, Poisoned Valentine

St Patrick's Day Reading Mystery: Once Upon a Crime, Fool's Gold

Easter Reading Mystery: Once Upon a Crime, EGGpocalypse!

Add extra motivation with this Detective Rank Chart Download the Mystery Record & Rank Chart FREEBIE HERE

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